Video reportage for Los Angeles/Pasadena public radio station and NPR affiliate, KPCC.

For six hours on a pleasant evening in July 2012, the night riders of Los Angeles shut down the tile-covered 2nd Street runnel for the biggest bicycle drag race the city had ever seen.

More than 200 riders competed and organizers quickly winnowed the field to a group of the 16 fastest in women's and men's categories. Each rider wore an ankle bracelet that timed their efforts to the one-hundredth of a second. In the end, only two remained. The fastest people on two wheels in the City of Angels.

Videography by Bear Guerra and Mae RyanEdited by Grant Slater

BLANK SPOT PROJECT (2015)

The following three short videos were produced as teasers that introduce a reportage made recently in Peru for Sweden's journalism start-up, Blank Spot Project. The final reportage (published in September 2015) focuses on controversies surrounding Yanacocha Mine's use of a Swedish-owned private security force that has been implicated in many abuses and rights violations in recent years against community members opposed to the company's proposed Conga Mine project. (produced June 2015, narration in Swedish)

In the second of three short video teasers, we hear thoughts on the Yanacocha Mine (and its expansion as the proposed Conga Mine project) from a handful of local community members near Cajamarca, Peru. (produced June 2015)

In the third of three short video teasers, we hear thoughts on how Yanacocha Mine's private security force, Swedish-owned Securitas, operates outside of Peruvian law, and in conjunction with the local and state police force to commit human rights abuses on community members opposed to the mine (and its expansion as the proposed Conga Mine project). (produced June 2015)

WORLD REFUGEE DAY (2011)

Short promotional video made for San Diego's first World Refugee Day Event in 2011.

Still Photography with Audio

BETWEEN THE FOREST AND THE SEA, PT.1 (2014)

The island-dwelling Guna people of Panama are one of the most sovereign indigenous communities in the world, being endowed with extensive land tenure and self-governance rights. And like many of the world’s traditional cultures, they have a tiny carbon footprint. The Guna also possess some of Central America’s best preserved forests, which they have utilized and managed collectively and sustainably for the past two hundred years. But now severe weather and sea level rise are causing regular flooding on many of the islands, and will likely force the Guna to have to abandon their island homes for the mainland.

This multimedia piece - Part 1 of 3 - offers an introduction to everyday life and customs in Guna Yala and touches upon the uncertain future the Guna are now facing thanks to the impacts of climate change.

Produced for Mongabay.org Special Reporting Initiative Fellowship. (August 2014)

BETWEEN THE FOREST AND THE SEA, PT.2 (2014)

The indigenous Guna of Panama are at the forefront of a new finding about forest conservation and climate change. A 2014 report by the World Resources Institute surveyed deforestation and emissions analyses from the most heavily forested countries around the world. Their conclusions were not surprising: It turns out that land held by local communities and indigenous peoples tends to be significantly less impacted by deforestation than land managed by governments or private entities. Thanks in part to their exceptional sovereignty and land tenure, the Guna have preserved their primary forests for hundreds of years through their cooperative use of the land and their cultural and spiritual traditions rooted in conservation.

In this multimedia piece - Part 2 of 3 - we follow Andrés de León and the Yarsuisuit collective, a group of men who grow and harvest food sustainably in the Guna mainland forest. They also run a store on the island of Ustupu that helps support their families, serving as a model for the wider community.

Produced for Mongabay.org Special Reporting Initiative Fellowship. (August 2014)

BETWEEN THE FOREST AND THE SEA, PT.3 (2014)

In 1925, Nele Kantule led a revolution that would make Guna Yala an independent and sovereign indigenous territory within Panama. Since then, the Guna have maintained a way of life that has allowed them to preserve their natural resources and mainland forest to an exceptional degree. But today, like many indigenous groups around the world, the Guna face some of their greatest challenges yet: the impacts of climate change, encroaching outside influences, and a younger generation that many elders feel is drifting from its roots.

In this multimedia piece - Part 2 of 3, we spend time with Kantule’s octogenarian grandson, Jesus Smith, as he is doing his part to ensure that the Guna's customs are not lost.

Produced for Mongabay.org Special Reporting Initiative Fellowship. (September 2014)

In the first of an ongoing series of short photographic and audio portraits of people we meet here in Quito, we visit with Gustavo Enrique Molina - a 65 year old man who has operated a shooting gallery game in Parque La Carolina for over 50 years.

In the second installment of our Quito Portrait series, we visit with Alejandro Hinojosa, a young entrepreneur born in the U.S. to Ecuadorean parents, who in the last year and a half has started two hotels.

In the third in our series of mini photo/audio portraits of people we meet during everyday life in our new home in Quito, Ecuador, we hear from our favorite fruit vendor at Mercado Santa Clara - Leonor Medina.

In the fourth Quito Portrait, we hear from Tomás Echeverria - a single man who ekes out a living with his guitar.

Polivio Morocho Guaman, 58 years old, has been selling “cevichochos” (a ceviche with chochos, a bean unique to the Andes) at Parque La Carolina for 35 years.

THE (IN)VISIBLE PROJECT: A HUMAN PORTRAIT OF SAN DIEGO'S HOMELESS POPULATION (2011)

The (In)Visible Project was a mobile, large-scale multimedia installation which shared stories from San Diego's homeless community through intimate photographic portraits and oral histories.